


The Little Door (Sleepy Bois Coraline AU)

by Aarky



Series: Splattering Muses (Tommy-centric MCYT AUs) [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coraline (2009) Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Big Brother Technoblade, Bit of brotherly bullying, Cat Dream, Cat georgenotfound, DadSchlatt, Dadza, Dave | Technoblade and Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, Does grammerly count as a beta, Dream is a cat, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Happy Ending, Happy Halloween, Horror, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I swear in the notes more than the characters, Inspired by Coraline, Mentioned GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Minor Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Minx swears, No Ship, Sad TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Slight horror, Swearing, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit Friendship, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Villain Wilbur Soot, Yes Technoblade is a brother but also bobinsky, technically Wilbur is not a bad guy but, they are children - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27342409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aarky/pseuds/Aarky
Summary: Tommy, his dad, and his two brothers moved into this huge pink house in some secluded town. With Techno busy with school, Phil always at work, and Wilbur busy getting his life together, Tommy felt all alone. When he is gifted a doll version of himself by his new neighbor Tubbo, maybe his life will change. Add a tiny door that only opens when it's just him, then maybe it's a change for the worst.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit, Dave | Technoblade & Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Minx | JustAMinx & Niki | Nihachu, Niki | Nihachu & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), No Romantic Relationship(s), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: Splattering Muses (Tommy-centric MCYT AUs) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023561
Comments: 66
Kudos: 748





	1. Meeting Tubbo

Tommy's boots sank into the thick mud with every step he took. In his outstretched arms sat a twisted branch. He waved the stick around and turned in a random direction before walking again. He mumbled under his breath while trudging up a small rocky hill. A pile of small rocks tumbled down the cliff and landed against his shoe.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Tommy glanced up at the pile of jagged rocks that sat on the top of the hill. He glared at the rocks and bent down to pick up a pebble. He pulled his arm back and tossed the rock.

He was met with a horrible yowl. It spooked him enough to make him lurch forward and run far away from whatever animal he hit. He almost fell flat on his face when he reached a small clearing. 

There was a small ring of mushrooms sitting next to a stump. He whipped around a few times only to whip back around as a cat jumped onto the stump with a yowl.

"You scared me to death, you mangy beast!" Tommy hissed and put his hands on his hips. The cat sat back on its haunches and seemed to glare at him.

"I'm just looking for an old well. Seen one?" The fluffy white cat dipped its head slightly but did not answer, as one would expect.

"Not talking, huh?" Tommy squinted but turned away from the cat and lifted the branch in the air.

"Magic douser, magic douser, show me the well!" Tommy was cut off by a horn sounding from atop the hill.

Tommy screeched and threw himself backward as a boy around his age came barreling down the hill on a dirt bike. The boy sideswiped him and stole the branch from out his hand. He jumped off his bike and stood on the old stump. A mask and goggles concealed his face from view.

"Let me guess, you're from somewhere dried out or barren? If you're trying to be a water-witch" Tommy noticed the boy had a familiar accent as he pulled off the mask and goggles.

"I'm from Brighton." Tommy glared suspiciously at the brown-haired boy.  


"Where?-"

"The UK. I don't like being stalked! Not by psycho nerds or their cat!" Tommy cut the poor boy off and swiped the branch from his hands.

"Well, Dream isn't really my cat. He's kinda feral, you know, wild. But, I feed him and sometimes he brings me little gifts." The boy reached down to drag his fingers through the fluffy cat's stark white fur.

Tommy sighed deeply and stomped his foot, "Look, if I'm a  _ water-witch,  _ then where's the secret well?"

The boy glanced down at Tommy's feet, "If you stomp too hard you might fall in."

Tommy threw himself backward and stared at the mud he once stood on. The boy jumped down from the stump and dug his gloved hands into the mud. He pulled the mud back to reveal the wooden cover to the well.

"See?" He knocked twice, "It's supposed to be so deep, if you feel in and looked up, you could see a sky full of stars in the middle of the day."

"Huh," Tommy knelt to feel the wood.

"I'm surprised you moved in. My dad owns the Pink Palace. He won't rent to families with kids." The boy turned away to stare at the huge house Tommy and his family moved into that day.

"Why not?" Tommy stood and walked over to stand on the overlook.

"Well, I'm not supposed to talk about it. I'm Tubbo." Tubbo held out his hand sheepishly.

"I'm Tommy, Tommy Innit." Tommy gripped Tubbo's gloved hand before pulling back to wipe the mud from his hand.

"Hmm, it's not a real interesting name, Thomas. But I heard an ordinary name like Thomas, can lead people to have ordinary expectations about a person." Tommy glared at the obvious mispronunciation of his name.

"Tubbo!" A faint male voice rang out over the hill as the ringing of a bell shortly followed.

"I think I heard someone calling you, Tubbo." Tommy crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.

"Huh? I didn't hear anything." Tubbo pulled his hand away from Dream and looked away sheepishly.

"Oh, I  _ definitely  _ heard someone, Tubbo." Tommy stepped forward and twirled to branch in his hands.

"TUBBO!" The chiming bell rang out again.

"Gah, Dad!" Tubbo threw his goggles back on and picked up his bike.

"Great to meet a British water-witch. But, I'd wear gloves next time."

"Why is that?" Tommy took another step forward gripping the branch.

"Cause that dousing rod of yours, its uh, poison oak." Tubbo laughed at him quietly before riding off.

Tommy gasped and threw the branch away before yelling at Tubbo as he rode over the hill. Tommy glanced down at Dream who only shook his head and picked himself up to padder away.

Tommy turned his head back towards the well. Standing over the well, Tommy picked up a small pebble and dropped it into a small hole in the cover. He pressed his ear against the wood but didn't hear the plop of it hitting water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOOY.  
> I'm back motherfucker! I started school recently so my other stories are on haitus. I'm doing this one just as a small hobby. I'm planning this to be on the shorter side, so I should finish it with time. Chapter word count: 864. I'll give you my character list:  
> Coraline: Tommy  
> The Dad: Phil  
> The other mother: Wilbur  
> Bobinsky: Techno (YES I MADE TECHNO A BROTHER AND BOBINSKY SHHHH)  
> Wybie: Tubbo  
> Ms Spink and Forcible: Niki and Minx  
> The Cat: Dream  
> The Grandma: Jschlatt


	2. Bricked up and Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In such a big family, Tommy had never felt so alone.

Tommy stood in front of the sink in the kitchen. He rinsed his hands before placing seed packets on the windowsill. He grumbled and scratched at the poison oak rash on his hand. The tapping of computer keys and the rain against the window was the only sound around.

"I almost fell down a well yesterday." Tommy glanced to the side nervously.

"Uh-huh." His brother, Wilbur, sat at the dinner table, tapping away at his computer.

"I could have died, Wilbur." Tommy turned to look at his brother in nervous shock.

"That's nice, Tommy." Wilbur didn't even glance at Tommy.

"Can I go out today? I think it's a great day for gardening." Tommy leaned against the sink and motioned towards the mudroom door.

"No, Tommy. It's raining and rain means mud and mud means a mess I will be forced to deal with. That is out of the question." This time Wilbur did look up from his laptop but it was only to glare at Tommy.

Tommy groaned and flopped into the chair across from Wilbur. Tommy put his head in his hands and glared daggers at his brother. Wilbur either didn't notice or didn't care as he pushed a newspaper-wrapped package towards him.

"Tommy, I don't have time for your grumbling. You still have unpacking to do. Lots of unpacking." Wilbur hissed.  
"Some kid left this on the porch. Said it was for you. You know him?" Wilbur said lightly.

"His name is Tubbo. I think he's dumb." Tommy swiped the package and stood up.

He unraveled the packaging to reveal a doll sitting pretty. This doll looked almost exactly like him. Down to the red and white shirt under his yellow rain jacket. He tossed the newspaper into the bin and stepped back towards the table.

"Huh. A little, _me_?" He turned the doll over before glancing at the button eyes again.  
"I'm way too much of a big man to play with dolls," Tommy grumbled but didn't put the doll down.

Tommy walked away from his brother's bad attitude and headed up towards the room his dad claimed as an office. He swung the squeaking door open to see his father surrounded by papers. He too sat over a computer.

"Hey, dad. How's the work going?" Tommy smiled and waited for an answer. When he didn't receive one, his smile dropped from his face.  
"Dad?"

"Hey, Tommy and... Tommy doll?" Phil turned in his chair and stopped typing for a second to smile at Tommy. He turned back towards the computer quickly though. Tommy glanced at his feet sadly.

"Do you know where the gardening tools are?" Tommy's sadness shifted into annoyance with the situation. 

"It's, uh, pouring out there, isn't it?" Phil continued typing.

"Ugh. It's just rain."

"Mhmm, what the boss-man say?" Phil turned his head a little but went back to typing.

"Don't even think about going out, Thomas Innit!" Tommy held the doll up and shook it back and forth as he yelled.

"Well, then you won't need the tools." Phil chuckled at him.

Tommy only groaned in response. He leaned against the door and grinned as it squeaked in response. He repeatedly swung the door back and forth, his grin growing wider with each squeak. Phil's shoulders tensed with every squeak.

"Argg. Listen, this house is over a hundred years old," Phil whipped around in his chair to stare at Tommy.

"So?" Tommy crossed his arms.

"So, explore it. Go around and count all the windows. Find everything that's blue and write it down. Just please, Tommy, let me work!" Phil was exasperated. Tommy snatched the small pad of paper from Phil's hands and stole a pen. 

Tommy sighed and walked out of the office and down the hallway. He snapped the clips to his raincoat off and slid it off. He tossed the coat away. Tommy ducked into a nearby bathroom and pulled the shower curtain open. He gagged as multiple little silverfish scuttled across the tiles. Tommy immediately turned out of the bathroom and slammed the door closed.

After leaving the bathroom, he heard Wilbur shout at him to stop slamming doors. He only glared in the vague direction of his brother. Tommy wandered around the house, counting windows and marking down blue things. 

Tommy wandered into a small closet that held the water heater. He stared at it for a few seconds before writing on the pad and turning to leave. He flicked the switch on the wall as he stepped out. The lights flickered and he heard Phil shout in anguish from his office. Turning back around, he flipped the switch back on a slammed the closet door shut.

He hummed to himself and turned into the messy living room. The couches were covered by sheets and there were boxes scattered around the room. He placed the doll onto the small coffee table and stepped up to a painting that stood over the cold fireplace.

"One boring blue boy in a painfully boring painting" He marked the pad of paper and turned to count the windows.  
"Four, incredibly boring windows, and no more doors." Tommy marked the paper and reached out a hand to pick the doll up from the table.

When he didn't feel anything, he finally turned around and saw an empty table.

"Alright, little me, where are you hiding?" He asked curiously while looking around.

When he finally spotted the doll, it was across the room slightly behind a piece of cardboard. He tilted his head and pattered over. He moved the cardboard aside to find a small door embedded into the wall. He leaned back on his heels and lifted his head to shout.

"Hey, Wilbur! Where does this door go?"

"I'm really, really busy!" Wilbur shouted back annoyed.

"I think it's locked!" Tommy shouted back. When he was met with no response, he picked his head up again to shout.  
"Please!" Tommy dragged out the last syllable.

He heard grumbling and heavy footsteps approaching him. Wilbur turned into the room and loomed over Tommy. He crossed his arms and glared at him.

"Will you stop pestering me if I do this for you?" Wilbur glared harder and motioned towards the door. Tommy threw on his best puppy eyes and nodded. Wilbur grumbled and walked out of the room.

When he returned, he had a black key in his hand. He knelt next to the door and ripped the wallpaper with the key. He pulled back and slotted the key into the hole and turned it. The subtle click of it unlocking sounded and Wilbur slowly opened the door. Only to reveal a bunch of bricks.

"Bricks? I don't get it?" Tommy sighed and threw himself backward onto the ground.

"They must have boarded it up when they divided the house." Wilbur sighed and stood up.

"But why's the door so small?" Tommy watched his brother begin to leave the door.

Wilbur whipped back around, "We made a deal! Zip it!"

Tommy watched in shock as Wilbur stomped back towards the dining room. With nothing left to do, Tommy slowly closed the small door. He didn't feel like bothering Phil again, Wilbur had been pissy all day, and venturing all the way to the top of the house to an anti-social Techno wasn't worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two baby! I know this is probably a bit OOC but I'm still getting a feel for these characters and Wilbur is supposed to be a bitch for this story. Anyway, I know a lot of you guys are excited for the other characters like Niki and Minx to show up, but now that I'm done with most of the opening bits they are on their way! Also, this isn't beta read so I'm sorry for the mistakes. I try to catch them as I edit but some slip past. School is really kicking my ass! I'm running on 6 hours of sleep :D  
> Chapter word count: 1,221


	3. Doors that Open

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How can you stand there, a whisper from me?  
> Yet somehow, be so far away?  
> In eyes once familiar, a stranger I see

Phil hummed and sung along with the old radio in the kitchen. Techno had come down from his separate and secluded room. He stood slumped over the kitchen counter. Tommy sat at the dinner table across from Wilbur.

"Why can't we ever cook anything good." Tommy put his head onto the table.

"Tommy, we've been over this. We're just doing simple meals until we get comfortable in the house. Phil works, Techno and I have school, and you stay out of the way." Wilbur set down his phone and furrowed his brows.

"It'll get better with time, Tommy" Phil walked into the dining room carrying a tin with some form of a casserole in it. Tommy grumbled at the food.

"It looks like slime." Tommy poked at his pile of food and faked gagging.

"Well, it's slime or bedtime." Phil took a bite of food.

"Mmm, you think they're trying to poison me?" Tommy looked over at the doll. He grumbled and stood from the table. 

Tommy walked out of the dining room, ignoring Phil calling him and ignoring Wilbur's glare. He stumbled up the stairs, all feelings of being hungry gone. Pushing his door open, he tossed the doll onto the side table. Flopping onto his bed, he groaned and rolled over to look at the photo next to his bed.

He picked up the photo and fought back tears as his friends, Deo, Bitzel, and Luke, stared back. He set the picture back on its stand and threw his blanket over him.

"Please don't forget about me guys," Tommy whispered to himself as he dozed off.

He didn't doze for very long because the squeaks of mice had he stumbling out of bed. He followed the pale shrieking mice down the stair and to the little door. The mice slipped through the cracked open door. Tommy slid on his knees and swung the door open.

There was a blindingly blue tunnel. The colors shifted every few seconds in between blues and purples. The texture was soft and smelled of vanilla. Slowly, he crawled through the door and to the other side. He stepped out into a room identical to the one he left. There were subtle shifts like the couches were uncovered, and the blue boy painting was brighter.

There was humming coming from where the kitchen is. It was a familiar floaty voice but slightly off. Turning the corner, he saw Wilbur standing over a stove.

"Wilbur? What are you doing up in the middle of the night?" Tommy stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

"You're just in time for dinner." Wilbur turned around and Tommy finally realized what was so off. Instead of the dark brown eyes, the whole family seemed to have, this Wilbur had big black buttons.

"You're not my brother. My brother doesn't have... buh-buh." Tommy began.

"Buh-buh, buttons? Don't worry silly, I'm your other brother. Now go tell your other father that dinners ready." Wilbur shoed him out of the room.

Tommy didn't know where to begin, so he just followed the sound of piano keys. He pushed the door open to see Phil sitting slumped over a piano. He was playing random chords before he turned towards Tommy. He, too, had big black button eyes. This Phil seemed to smile a little wider and laugh a little harder, so Tommy relaxed quickly.

Returning to the dining room, Tommy noticed that Techno wasn't anywhere near. He was about to say something when Wilbur and Phil ducked their heads for the blessing. Finally, Tommy was able to dig into the golden turkey and fresh potatoes. He hummed in appreciation.

"Hungry, aren't we?" Wilbur chuckled at him, his plate empty.

"Another roll, sweet peas, corn on the cob?" 

"I'm real thirsty." Tommy looked up from his food and at his empty cup.

"Of course! Any requests?" 

"Mango milkshake?"

Wilbur lifted a hand as the chandelier spun downwards. It spun once more before stopping in front of a yellow looking drink. Tommy pressed the tab and poured himself the drink. Chugging it down, Phil scooped up his plate as Wilbur placed a flowery pink cake in front of him. The icing read 'Welcome Home' in spirally and flowy text.  


"Home?" Tommy looked up from the cake.

"We've been waiting for you, Tommy," Wilbur leaned against the table.

"Wasn't the same without you, kiddo." Phil smiled.

"I didn't know I had an other brother." Tommy leaned back in the chair and squinted at Wilbur.

"Of course you do! Everyone does." Wilbur smiled wide.

"I thought once you're done eating, we could play a game." Wilbur's fingers tapped against the table.

"You mean like, hide-and-seek?" Tommy sat up in his chair, nervously glancing at Wilburs tapping fingers.

"Sure! Hide-and-seek in the rain!"

"What rain?" Tommy was cut off by lightning crashing outside the window.

"Huh. What about the mud?"

"We love mud!" Phil threw his hands out and chuckled.

"Mud facials, mud baths, mud pies. It's great for poison oak." Wilbur stood and walked behind Tommy and picked up his hand.

"How did you-. I'd love to play, but I'd better get back to my other brother." Tommy felt a sense of fear crawling up his back.

"But I'm your other brother!" Wilbur smiled wide.

"I mean my other, other brother. Brother number one." Tommy backed up into Phil.

"I better be getting to bed."

"Of course, Toms. It's all made up for you." Wilbur put a hand around Tommy's shoulder and led him up the stairs. Phil was a few steps behind.

"Come along, sleepyhead." Phil smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Tommy was led up the stairs and down the hallway. Tommy was led by the two hands on his shoulders. Phil pushed the bedroom door open and stepped in first. Tommy stepped in next.

Butterflies were fluttering around the room, and the few stuffed animals he had were out in the open. When Tommy was really young, and he was just adopted, Techno had gifted him a pig stuffy. Tommy had carried that stuffy every waking moment. Phil was always  _ very happy _ to say that was the moment Techno got too attached. Tommy was four and never left Techno's side.

Tommy sat on the bed and was going to ask about Techno again when he was cut off. Wilbur stepped up next to Tommy with a jar of mud. Tommy held out a hand, and Wilbur spread the mud across the rash. Tommy was tucked into bed and he dozed off.

" _See you soon_." Wilbur and Phil quietly said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eoilkjdfnlfdsljdslja another one. No, this upload schedule will not continue to be this close together. The next chapter is Niki and Minx and I've never written those two so ima try my best. God my favorite part of writing is the accidentally deleting an entire chapter and having to frantically hit the back button. ALSO thank you thank you thank you thank you for all the love and support in the comments. I know it isn't a lot but reading comments is my favorite part so thank you! Alright, I've been ignoring an important project for the entire day so I gotta go. <3  
> Chapter word count: 1,096


	4. Meeting the Neighbors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil and Wilbur didn't have time for him. So why was Techno still so fiercely on his side? He gave him warnings and so did Niki and Minx. What does that mean?

This time, Tommy awoke to his cracked cement ceiling. He blinked a few times before rolling over in his bed. He reached over and scratched at his palm before realizing his rash was gone. Gaping at his hands, he threw himself out of bed and down the stairs.

Tommy slid into the living room and slammed open the little door. Instead of the soft tunnel, he was met with a bricked-up wall. He leaned backward and gaped.

"It was incredibly real, Wilbur!" Tommy planted his hands on the table.

"Except you weren't really you, you were my  _ other _ brother."

"Buttons for eyes, huh." Wilbur leaned over the tabled to snatch a cup of coffee.

"Tommy, you only dreamed up all that food." Wilbur raised an eyebrow.

"At least take your multivitamins."

"You were in my dream too, dad! You played piano and wore a red hat." Tommy scooped up a pill from the bottle and took a swing of water.

"A red hat? My hat is green, Toms." Phil ruffled Tommy's hair before walking out of the kitchen.

"Tommy, why don't you go downstairs. I bet those  _ actresses  _ would  _ love  _ to hear about your dream." Wilbur closed the fridge door with his hip and smirked as he walked past Tommy.

"Ms. Nihachu and Minx? You said Minx was a dingbat." Tommy glared as Wilbur only smirked wider and left the kitchen.

Tommy threw on his yellow raincoat. Stepping out onto the porch, he knelt down to pick up a pile of packages. A few were small, but one was very big. He flicked through the parcels and noticed they were all sent to Techno.

He turned towards the narrow metal staircase that led up to Techno's separate room. Putting the stack of smaller packages on to of the big box, he hefted the heavy box up the stairs. When he finally reached the top, he gently placed the pile of boxes down and knocked on Techno's door. Receiving no response, he hit the door again, and this time knocked the door open.

Techno's room had empty boxes thrown in a haphazard pile, a desk that looked half-assembled, and a pristine desktop set that sat waiting for a desk. Tommy leaned into the room and glanced around.

"Haven't I told you before to  _ not  _ snoop around my room?" Techno's voice sounded from behind him.

Whipping around, Tommy was face-to-face with Techno hanging upside down from a flag pole protruding from above his door. Tommy gaped for a few seconds before turning and closing the door.

"You have mail. I just came up to give it to you." Tommy pointed to the pile of boxes and grumbled.

Techno glanced at the packages before swinging himself up and off the pole.

"Thanks, nerd. I appreciate it." Techno ruffled Tommy's hair and smiled slightly.

"So, what's in the boxes?" Tommy smiled at Techno and leaned back on his heels.

"Don't tell dad, but I want to start streaming. I ordered a mic and stream setup stuff. Also, help me move this stuff in." Techno brushed the smaller packages to the side and heaved the big box up. Tommy opened the door for him before scooping up the smaller packages.

"Streaming? That's cool. What would you stream?" Tommy placed the packages where Techno motioned towards.

"I don't know yet, Toms. Probably gaming, that's pretty popular right now." Techno hummed in thought before turning abruptly towards Tommy.

"Hey, listen, kid. Don't think I haven't noticed how much of an asshole Wilbur's been. Don't even argue with me on that."

Tommy opened his mouth to say something but hesitated, "He and Dad are just stressed from the move and settling into a new place."

Techno raised an eyebrow, "That doesn't excuse taking it out on you. Tell me if he gets worse. I'll beat him up for you."

Tommy squawked indignantly, "Thanks, Techno, but I can fight my own battles." Tommy turned back towards the door and started to leave.

"You shouldn't have to, kid. You shouldn't have to." He heard Techno say quietly.

Closing the door, Tommy hopped back down the stairs and turned the corner to head for the other apartment. He looked upwards as he heard a shout.

"Hey! Kid! I don't know about you, but have you seen the tiny door in the living room?" Techno shouted from his balcony.

At Tommy's approval, he shouted back, "Yeah, that thing gives me the creeps, stay away from it, will you. For me?"

Tommy didn't respond for a few seconds but he nodded anyway and flashed a thumbs-up. He watched Techno turn back into his room, curiously.

He turned the corner of the house and started down the stairs leading into the basement apartment. When he reached the bottom, he used the knocker on the door and glanced around. He didn't receive an answer for a while, so he leaned his head against the glass door and squinted to see in the house. A brown cat jumped up into his view and swatted at the glass.

"Coming! Coming!" A soft voice called from inside the house. The door was pulled open to reveal Niki holding a sleek brown cat. 

"Hi, Tommy! Great to finally meet you. Phil talked a lot about you." Niki opened the door wider to let Tommy in. He shuffled towards a worn looking couch and sat down.

The cat twisted in Niki's arms, so she set him down. The brown cat pattered over to where Tommy had settled and jumped up onto his lap. The cat purred at Tommy's pets and blinked at him slowly. He noticed the cat had mismatched eye colors.

"Oi, Niki. Who the fuck did you let in." A harsh, accented voice startled Tommy as he whipped towards where the voice came from.

"It's Tommy, Minx. Wilbur's little brother and Phil's son." Niki walked past where Tommy was sitting.

When Niki turned the corner and disappeared into the kitchen, Tommy finally looked around at their house. It was pretty dark in some places with strung up LED lights illuminating the room. On the other side of the house, the few windows they had, had their curtains open. The light landed on a shelf hold all kinds of blooming flowers and succulent plants. He noticed two kittens skitting around the house.

"Well, I can finally meet who Wilbur stole all the charm from." Minx came walking into the room and stood in front of him.

"Please, if you think that man is charming, then your either dumb or blind." Tommy rolled his eyes and pet the cat in his lap. He was looked in intense eye-contact with Minx for a few seconds with Niki hovering behind Minx.

Minx squinted at him before huffing a laugh, "I like you, kid. You're alright."

Tommy laughed along, "Wilbur told me you two were  _ actresses _ . That sounds interesting."

Niki perked up as she sat down in an armchair, "Oh, yes. Me and Minx used to do stage performances around the country. But being on the stage for so long can take a lot out of someone. So, we settled down here."

"We crashed mentally, so we stopped because we weren't having fun anymore. We have enough money to settle down and find simpler jobs." Minx piped up from the chair she had thrown herself across.

Tommy nodded, "Sounds like a shit situation. I'm glad you are happy here now." 

Niki and Minx nodded happily in response.

"You know what, Tommy? I think you're going to do great things." Niki smiled at him.

"But let me say this. You're going to struggle in life, but there is always a dip before the spike. Seek help if you need it." 

"What can I do to stay safe?" Tommy tilted his head and smiled.

"Never wear green in your dressingroom!" Niki perked up.

"Invest in a very tall stepladder." Minx leaned in.

"And, be very, very careful, Tommy." Niki closed the conversation.

"Thanks. Have a good day." Tommy scooped up the cat on his lap and stood up.

"George might leave with you. He's an outdoor cat, so don't worry." Niki glanced at the cat, George, who sat contently in Tommy's arms.

Tommy nodded and headed for the door. He opened the door and stepped out. Closing it with his hip, he hopped up the stairs two at a time. He walked across the grass and noticed a figure sneaking through the fog. He took a few more steps before whipping around and yanking Tubbo up by the goggles. 

"Well, if it isn't the village stalker." Tommy grinned and clutched George tighter to his chest.

"I wasn't stalking you! We're hunting Banana slugs."

"What do you mean we?"

Dream squirmed out of Tubbo's jacket and up onto his shoulders. He meowed at George, who meowed back.

"Hah! Your cat's not wild, he's a wuss puss." Tommy placed George down. George glanced up at Dream before pattering off into the fog.

"What? He hates to get his feet wet."

"Wuss puss," Tommy whispered.

"So, that doll. Did you make it look like me?" 

"Oh, no. I found it like that. It's as old as my dad. Old as this house, probably." Tubbo ducked down to hunt through the mud.

"You're kidding. My blond hair, raincoat, and red and white t-shirt." Tommy leaned forward.

"Yeah! Check out slugzilla!" Tubbo lifted a yellow slug that sat in a pair of tongs.

Tommy pushed the slug away from his face, "You're just like them."

Tubbo glanced at the slug, "Huh?"

"I meant my family. They don't listen to me either."

"Yeah, yeah. Do you mind?" Tubbo placed a camera in Tommy's empty hands.

Tubbo ran through weird poses with the slug that made Tommy laugh. Tubbo looked at the slug one more time before placing it back in the mud. He took the camera back and tucked it into his coat.

"You know. I've never been inside the pink palace." Tubbo shifted on his feet.

"You're kidding?"

"Dad would kill me. Said it was dangerous or something."

"Dangerous?" Tommy glanced at the house.

"Dad had a business partner. When they bought this place, his partner went missing. He says he was stolen, or something."

"Stolen? Well, what do you think?" Tommy tilted his head.

"I don't know. Maybe he ran away or something." Tubbo picked his bike back up as the bell chimed across the hill.

"I gotta go." Tubbo kicked his bike up and rode off.

"Wait a minute!" Tommy lifted his hand, but Tubbo kept moving.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I wrote Minx and Niki pretty well. I had a few problems with writing Techno so he's not perfect. Just powered through so many missing assignments. Virtual school sucks but I'd rather stay at home than go in person and die fkjfkdks ANYWAY GOODNIGHT NERDS. SORRY FOR MISTAKES.  
> Chapter Word count : 1,765


	5. Techno's Performance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Wilbur seemed to grit his teeth as he said Techno's name. Did Techno figure something out?

That night, Tommy snuck a piece of cheddar out of the fridge and up to his room. He broke it into a few separate pieces and placed them right by his open door. He was full of nerves when he finally settled down into his bed. He closed his eyes and rested for a few minutes before the squeaking of mice woke him up. He rolled over to see the mice picking up the cheddar before hopping away.

Throwing himself out of bed, Tommy slid into the hallway and down the stairs. He followed the mice into the livingroom. He slid across the room on his knees and threw the door open. The blue tunnel slowly unfurled right in front of his eyes. He caressed the soft fabric for a moment before crawling in and to the  _ other  _ side. 

He slowly made his way across and stepped out into the living room. The humming from last time was louder. He turned the corner into the kitchen.

"Welcome back, Toms." This Wilbur lifted his head towards him and smiled.

"So nice of you to send this cheddar, Tommy."

"Cheddar?" Tommy glanced down to see the cheddar Wilbur was grating into the eggs.

"Oh! The mousetrap."

"Would you go fetch your father? I bet he's as hungry as a pumpkin by now." Wilbur turned away from the food to smile.

"You mean my  _ other  _ father." He didn't know why, but Wilbur's smile seemed to stretch a little too far.

"Your better father, Tommy."

"He's in the garden right now."

"But my family doesn't have time for gardening-" Tommy was cut off by Wilbur, shushing him and pushing a strawberry into his mouth. Tommy hummed at the taste and walked in the direction  _ Wilbur _ had pointed.

Tommy stepped out onto the porch and watched as the plants seemed to bloom in front of his eyes. The flowers unfurled and lit up with color. The trees twisted and lit up as well. Hummingbirds flew past his face and sung their sweet songs. He heard the rumbling of gears turned and over the bridge came Phil riding some sort of planting machine. It looked like a grasshopper and the front feet had blades on them.

"Hey, Toms!" Phil called from atop his machine. He swung the machine down next to Tommy and held out a hand.

"I wanna show you something, kiddo!"

Tommy took Phil's hand and was picked up and placed on the backseat. Mechanical wings unfurled from the sides of the machine and lifted them into the air. As they gained more and more height, Tommy finally realized how much more beautiful the garden looked. Bright reds intertwined and danced with soothing blues.

"It's beautiful!" Tommy laughed and shouted over the wind brushing through his hair.

"Wilbur knew you'd love it!" Phil laughed.

Phil started steering the bot back towards the ground. He landed it right by the exit to the garden. Some of the plants branched out towards Tommy's feet and nipped at his heels. Phil chuckles and swings the blades down to cut the plants by their stems.

"Wilbur says it's time for food." Tommy scooped up the flowers Phil had cut.

Phil hopped off the machine and ruffled Tommy's hair as they walked back towards the house. Phil held open the door for Tommy. He gave the flowers to Wilbur, who set up a vase for them.

The group all settled at the table. Phil and Tommy quickly dug into the food, and again, Wilbur kept his plate empty. Wilbur fed the still moving plants a few pieces of chocolate.

"Tommy, Techno has invited you to see his show." Wilbur looked up from the plants to smile.

"Phil and I will clean up while you and your  _ friend  _ can head upstairs."

"My friend?" Tommy tilted his head.

Wilbur walked over to the front door and swung it open to reveal the  _ other  _ Tubbo. This Tubbo raised his hand to wave with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Oh, great, another Tubbo. Hello, stalker." Tommy stood from his chair and dragged his feet to the door. Tubbo, though, didn't respond.

"I thought you might like him better if he  _ didn't  _ speak." Wilbur placed a hand on Tubbo's shoulder.

"So, he can't talk at all?" At Wilbur's nod, Tommy hummed.

"I like it."

"Now, run along you, two. Have fun." Wilbur smiled and waved them off. 

Tommy and Tubbo stepped through the door and turned towards the narrow staircase.

"It didn't hurt, did it? When he-" Tommy was cut off by Tubbo pointing up to a small blue balloon drifting up to Techno's room. Tommy and Tubbo hurried their paces and ran up the stairs. They reached the top, and Tubbo swung open the door for them.

The room was still cramped, but a small red and white tent sat in the middle of the room. Lively music was pouring out of the tent. Around the room, there was a popcorn dispenser and a row of cannons. Tubbo pressed a peddle next to a cannon, and grinned as a stick of cotton candy flew up into his hands. Tommy picked up a thing of popcorn and hummed at the warmth. He whipped back around as the cannons popped a few more times. Tubbo was covered in the candy floss.

Tommy laughed and knelt to crawl into the tent. Tubbo followed a few paces behind him. Tommy moved the draping fabric to step into a circus arena. Hundreds of button-eyed people sat cheering in the stands. In the middle of the arena sat a mouse band readying their instruments.

The mouse band picked up their instruments and played a quick and joyful tune as more mice poured into the arena. These mice held swords, and sparks flew as mice fought. Suddenly, the music picked up, and all the mice started to converge to the middle. A spiraling tower sprung from the floor, and mice started to climb it. The mice at the very top stood on a red bouncy ball. This mouse started rolling down the tower, knocking off other mice.

Once all the other mice were off the tower, it fell away to reveal Techno, bright pink hair, and all. He stood in a performers outfit and bowed with a tophat clutched to his chest. His eyes were buttons as well. Tommy and Tubbo clapped joyfully. 

"That was amazing, Techno!" Tommy shouted and threw his hands up. Techno laughed and reached out to pat Tommy's head.

"Thank you for attending, Toms. Goodnight." Techno smiled and led them out of his room. 

Tommy stood on the balcony for a few seconds, just to breathe the night air. After a few seconds, Tommy and Tubbo made their way back down. When they got back to the house, Wilbur put a hand on Tommy's shoulder and led him to bed.

Wilbur gently tucked Tommy in and sat next to him. Tommy blinked back to sleep for a few seconds, but slowly succumbed to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> akhdkhwefknkj YES I POSTED VERY CLOSE TOGETHER AFTER SAYING I PROBABLY WOULDN'T SHUT UP. Anyway... I had a lot of fun writing the garden scene and the performance. It's late and I don't have much to say. SORRY FOR MISTAKES I'M PRETTY SURE THIS ONE HAS A LOT. I'LL EDIT TOMORROW. Goodnight.  
> Chapter word count: 1,171


	6. Losing Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sew them in  
> Sew them in  
> How many times will I hear that

Tommy opened his eyes to the same cracked ceiling from before. He sat up and groaned in annoyance. He turned towards the door and stumbled out of bed to see the crumbs of cheese left behind.

Throwing the door open, Tommy swung himself down the stairs and towards the living room. He stumbled into the living room and slid down to the door. Gripping the sides, he attempted to pull it open. The door stayed firmly closed and locked. He squinted at the door and grumbled, confused.

.

Later that day, Wilbur and Phil dragged him out for clothing shopping. The school he was going to required a boring gray uniform. Phil decided to go shopping since Tommy didn't own gray clothing. Tommy, of course, hating the idea of uniforms and hating the idea of gray even more.

When they arrived, Phil was the one sorting through clothing while Tommy just stood awkwardly around. Wilbur was shopping for himself and was sorting through more colorful clothes. Tommy walked over to a display table and picked up a pair of colorful bright red gloves. He slipped them on and walked over to Phil. He held up his hands and waved them around.

"No, Tommy. Put them back." Phil muttered from the pile of clothes he was sorting through.

"Phil! Everyone at that school is going to be wearing boring gray. No one will have these." Tommy groaned and dropped his hands.

"Tommy, I said no." Phil looked up from the pile to level Tommy with an unimpressed stare.

Tommy turned to put the gloves away, "I bet my  _ other  _ family would buy them for me."

"Well, maybe your  _ other family  _ should buy all your clothes." Phil picked up a few dress shirts and walked away.

Once the clothes were paid for, the family jumped back into the car and headed home. Tommy leaned against the car window and fought back exhaustion. He felt randomly tired these past few days. Tommy didn't notice the concerned glances he got from Phil and Techno. He hadn't checked, but he knew that he had horrible bags under his eyes.

"So, what do you think is in the other apartment?" Tommy asked from the backseat.

"Not a family of sleepy bois imposters." Wilbur glanced up in the mirror.

"So why'd you lock the door?" Tommy glared.

"I found some rat shit. I thought you might feel,  _ safer. _ "

"They're jumping mice, Wilbur. The dreams aren't dangerous! They're the most fun I've had since we moved here."

"Your school might be fun." Phil finally spoke up.

"With those horrible uniforms?  _ Right _ ." Tommy ended the conversation.

Phil pulled the car into the driveway and quickly parked. He stepped out and opened the backseat door to grab one of the bags. Tommy grabbed the other and stepped out as well. Wilbur hefted up his bag and followed the group up to the door.

Phil fished out his keys and swung the door open. He threw his bag onto the table and walked over to the fridge. As Tommy placed his bag down, Phil rummaged through the fridge.

"Huh, I guess we're going to have to go food shopping." Phil swung the door closed and turned towards the group.

"Why don't you come with, Tommy? I'll let you pick out something."

"Oh, like the gloves," Tommy muttered from his seat at the table.

Phil sighed deeply, "Tommy, listen to me. Once things get better and we settle, I promise I will make it up to you."

"That's what you always say." Tommy looked away, annoyed.

"We won't be long."

He could feel Wilbur's glare as he and Phil left. Tommy listed for the telltale sound of the car driving away before standing with a grin.

"But I might be." Tommy pulled the key drawer open with a yank.

He rummaged through the keys but groaned as the black button key was missing. He looked around and spotted it above the door frame. Grabbing a chair and a few books, Tommy climbed up to grab the key. His hand brushed it once or twice before finally getting a good grip on it. He jumped from the chair and ran towards the little door.

He pressed the key into the lock and pulled the door open. The tunnel slowly unfurled, and the colors swirled brighter than before. 

"I knew it wasn't a dream!" Tommy smiled and crawled in.

Tommy stepped into the living room and walked towards the kitchen. He turned into the room and didn't see anyone. An assortment of different foods sat at the table. A black box with a pink bow sat in front of the food. He picked up the small note on top of the box.

'Hello, Tommy. Nihachu and Minx have invited you to come to see their show.'

'I hope you like the outfit I made for you.' was written in a flowery font.

Tommy finished his food and threw on the outfit. The outfit consisted of a midnight blue sweater with glow-in-the-dark stars on it, dark blue jeans, and a pair of blue combat boots. 

He stepped out onto the porch and stretched his arms up. He hopped down the stairs but turned around as a cat's meow sounded. Turning around, Tommy spotted Dream and George sitting on the porch roof.

"Tubbo and Niki have cats like you." Tommy tilted his head.

"You must be the  _ other _ version of those cats."

Dream jumped down from the roof and walked across the railing. He sat down and swiped a paw over his head.

"No, I'm not the other anything. I'm me." Dream seemed to grin at him as he spoke.

Tommy gasped, "I can see you don't have button eyes. If you're the same cat, then how can you talk?"

"We just can." Dream jumped off the railing with one last look at George, who only walked away.

"Cats don't talk at home."

"No? Well, you're clearly are the expert on this. After all, I'm just a big fat wuss puss." Dream jumped up onto a broken tree and turned to glare at Tommy.

"Come back! Please. I'm sorry I called you that." Tommy nervously said.

"How'd you get here?"

"I've been coming here for a while." Dream walked by one of the branches a disappeared.

"It's a game we play.  _ He  _ hates cats and tries to keep us out. Of course, we come and go as we please." Dream jumped out of a hole in the other tree.

"The other brother hates cats?"

"Not like any brother I've ever known."

"What do you mean? He's amazing! Much better than my real brother." Tommy grumbled.

"You probably think this world is a  _ dream  _ come true. But you're  _ wrong _ , the other Tubbo told me so." Dream jumped back up onto the roof.

"That's nonsense. He can't talk."

"Perhaps not to you. We cats have far superior senses than you hu-" Dream stopped.

"Shhh. I hear something."

Dream turned away to run across the roof and away from Tommy. Tommy stood for a few more minutes before turning and continuing his walk to the basement. He reached the top of the stairs, and around the door were rotating lights.

He pushed through the curtains blocking the entrance and was met by a button-eyed cat holding a flashlight. The cat rubbed against his legs and led him into a huge theatre. Spotting Tubbo, he pattered over and sat down. Hundreds of other button-eyed cats sat in seats around them. The curtains shuffled then swung open.

Button-eyed Minx and Niki stood in the middle of the stage, wearing long jackets that touched the floor. They looked unworldly tired, with deep bags under their eyes and paper-white skin. Minx lifted a hand to catch a ball Niki was tossing her way. They began to juggle and speed up until the balls were a blur.

Minx suddenly caught the ball and turned towards the crowd, "Are you not entertained!?"

Niki turned as well and drawled out, "What more must we dooo!?" 

Tommy was not enjoying this as much as the cats in the audience seemed to be. Tommy just couldn't ignore the sheen of sweat on their heads and the bags under their eyes.

Minx and Niki grabbed at their coats and peeled them off. The jackets peeled off, and so did their faces. Niki shook a little to reveal her smiling face. They stood with no eyebags, no sweat, and no ugly coats. Instead, they wore skin-tight dance outfits; Minx colored red and Niki green. 

They leaped up into the air and grabbed dual trapeze bars. They swung through the air and did high flips and tossed each other around. As they swung around the hall, a cat pushed a barrel of water out onto the stage.

"What a piece of work is man." Minx sang as she moved.

"How noble in reason; infinite in faculty. In form and in moving so express." Niki joined in.

"In action like an angel." Minx tossed herself up and into Niki's hands.

Minx leaned down with her hands out, "In apprehension, how like a god!"

Minx grabbed Tommy's hands and swung him up into the air along with them. Minx was tossed across to the other swing. And so began a game of tossed Tommy to each other. Tommy laughed as he was caught then sent through the air again.

"The paragon of animals!" Niki swung Tommy up towards the middle of the platform, leaving him to hang.

While Tommy was left hanging, Minx and Niki leaped off their swings and plummeted towards the barrel. They dived in one after the other. Tommy gripped the bar as hard as he could, but his hands began to slip. Down he fell but was caught by Niki in one hand. He balanced on Niki's hand as she balanced on Minx's hand.

The crowd cheered, and Tubbo stood to toss a rose up towards Tommy. Tommy was carefully placed down by Minx and Niki, who bowed to the crowd. They disappeared behind the closing curtains.

Tubbo led him out of the theatre and right to where Wilbur and Phil stood waiting for them.

"Was it wonderful, Tommy?" Phil asked, placing a hand on his shoulder to lead him.

"Yeah! They swooped down and pulled me right out of my seat! Then, I was flying through the air, and it was just amazing!" Tommy threw his hands out and spun around.

"You do like it here, don't you, Tommy?" Wilbur looked up at him, halfway in the shadows of the lanterns.

"Uh-huh! Goodnight, Tubbo." Tommy waved behind him and walked into the house.

"You could stay here,  _ forever _ , if you want to." Wilbur led him into the dining room, where they all sat down."

"Really?" Tommy settled into his seat.

"Sure! We'll sing and play games. Wilbur will cook your favorite meals." Phil smiled happily.

"There's one tiny little thing we need to do." Wilbur shuffled around in the kitchen for a few minutes before returning with a black box.

"For you,  _ my  _ little  _ doll _ ."

Tommy unraveled the pink ribbon and pulled open the cover. Two big black buttons sat above a spool of thread.

"Black is traditional. But if you would prefer pink, or vermilion, or chartreuse. Although you would make me jealous." Wilbur tapped his buttons as they shifted colors.

Tommy slapped the box away, "No way! You're not sewing buttons into my eyes!"

"Oh, but we need a yes if you want to stay." Wilbur gritted his teeth.

Phil picked up the needle, "So sharp you won't feel a th-" 

He was cut off by Wilbur kicking his leg.

"There now, it's your decision. We only want what's best for you." Wilbur picked up the box and moved towards Tommy.

"I'm going to bed!" Tommy stood abruptly.

"Before dinner?" Phil tilted his head.

"Yeah, I'm really tired," Tommy faked a yawn, "I should be getting to bed."

"Of course, Toms. I'll tuck you in."

"No, thanks! You've done so much already."

"You're welcome, Toms. Soon, you'll see things  _ our  _ way. Goodnight." Wilbur and Phil stood at the bottom of the stairs as Tommy slowly made his way up.

As soon as he was out of sight, he raced through the hallway and to his room. He threw open the door and began to push his desk and chair against the door.

"I'm going home tonight, and I won't. be. back." Tommy gave one more push against the desk before stumbling into bed.

He buried himself under his blanket, "Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep."

He nodded off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AW yeah, we getting into the juicy stuff now. Was the performance creepy? Good. I know the movie has the song or whatever but the book wrote this scene very creepily so I took more inspiration from the book than the movie for that scene. I still combine the movie sequence with the book so ehh.  
> WRITING SUCH A MEAN PHIL HURTS ME  
> Chapter word count: 2,105


	7. Greet death like an old friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who are you, little ghost?

Tommy didn't know how long he slept for, but eventually, we woke back up.

He threw his blanket off, "Wilbur! Phil! I'm home-"

But he was met with the pretty pink wallpaper of his  _ other _ room. His smile had never dropped faster as he looked around at his uncomfortably bright room. The desk and chair that he thought protected him from the door only felt caging. He knew it only delayed the inevitable.

"I'm still here." Tommy curled around his legs in fear.

After a few minutes of catching his breath, Tommy slowly removed the blockade and crept down the stairs. The house was dark, and every board seemed to creak. The door that opened to the living room was closed, and pulling on them only revealed that they were locked. Piano chords floated through the hallway.

So he made his way to Phil's office.

Opening the door, he hissed, "Hey, you! Where's the  _ other  _ Wilbur?"

"All will be swell soon as brother's refreshed. Her strength is our strength-" Phil started but was cut off by gloved hands branching from the piano and turning him away.

"Mustn't talk while your Brother's not here."

"If you won't even talk to me, then I'm going to find the other Tubbo."

"No point. He pulled a long face á̵͓̍ņ̵̫͆͛̍d̵̬̟̥̀̈́͒ ̶͓̩̿͘W̵͇̘͓̒́i̴̥̽͒͝l̸̨̰̠̽̀b̷̼̹͉̋̑ù̷͍̺ͅr̸̰̆͋ ̶̝̗̭̄d̵̬̈́͂i̶̫̲͑̚̕d̴̪̓́̑n̵̺͛̃̕'̶̠̥̏ṱ̴̆͊ ̷̲͈̻̂͆l̴̹͈̅i̴͇͕͉̕̚k̸̭̠͉̓̈́͝è̶̗̀͑ ̶̭̎̈i̷̟͇̓͂͛ţ̴̟̑.̶̌"͉̤̖ Phil slowly turned around and pulled his mouth into a forced frown.

Tommy gasped as the hands shot out and forced Phil's mouth closed. Tommy whipped around and stumbled out of the office. He ran down the hall and shoved the front door open. 

His boots sank into the mud as he climbed the hill towards the well. He stumbled through a blooming apple orchard and attempted to catch his breath. Slowing to a walk, he took in his surroundings. As he walked a meow caught his attention. Dream pattered on next to him.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Dream's taunting voice piped up.

"Well, I'm getting out of here." Tommy looked down at Dream.

Dream only gave a small grunt in response.

But as Tommy kept walking, the mud path and tree crumbled away into a stark white void. He couldn't make out any figures and turning around, he only saw more white.

"Somethings wrong. Shouldn't the old well be here?" Tommy glanced at Dream.

"Out here is the empty part of this world."

"He only made what he knew would impress you." Dream seemed to smile.

"But why? Why does he want me?"

"He just wants something to love. To nurture."

"Or he just loves something to  _ eat. _ "

"Eat? That's ridiculous. Brother's don't eat brothers?" Tommy seemed to hesitate.

"I don't know. How do you taste?" Dream laughed at Tommy's expression.

They continued walking for a few more minutes before the white void sank away into the front of the house. Turning around, he only saw the usual scenery; the garden and the mud path.

"How can you walk away from something but still come back to it?" Tommy asked, exasperated.

"Walk around the world." Dream sat back on his haunches. 

"Huh, small world." Tommy stopped to look up at the house then back down at Dream.

A short trumpet chord sounded from the bushes by the house. Dream immediately perked up and growled. He raced off towards the sound. Mouse shrieked and hopped out of the bushes as George chased it. Dream jumped up to grab the mouse by the scruff.

"No! He's one of the performing mice!" Tommy waved his hands.

Dream bit down on the mouse's nice and sand poured out of its mouth as it lengthened into a rat. Dream dropped the rat carcass and turned toward Tommy.

"I don't like rats on the best of days, but this one was sounding an alarm." Dream glared at the carcass before shaking out his fur.

Dream smirked at Tommy one last time before turning a running off. George stuck around for a few more seconds before scampering off as well. 

"Good kitties," Tommy whispered to himself as the cats disappeared.

Tommy's nerves returned as he turned back towards the front porch. He slowly trudged up to the door. An umbrella bucket sat in front of the door with an assortment of canes and umbrellas. He grabbed a random cane from the bucket and walked into the house.

He made his way to the living room and cracked the door handles off the door with the cane. He let the cane fall from his hands and slowly opened the door. The hallway light illuminated the little door.

Before he could make his way over, a huge bug pattered over and covered the door. The walls lit up as a bug-shaped sofa turned towards him. The room lit up with bright oranges, purples, and greens.

"They say even the proudest spirit can be broken by love." Wilbur turned towards him with a smile.

The door shut behind him, and one of the bug chairs scooped him up. He was carried over to where Wilbur sat.

"Of course, chocolate never hurts. Like one?"  _ Wilbur  _ held out a box of chocolate beetles. They were still squirming.

Tommy gagged in mind and shook his head. Wilbur hummed and pulled the box away to grab one for himself and take a bite.

"I want to be with my real brothers and dad." Tommy crossed his arms with a growl.

Wilbur glared, "Is that any way to talk to your brother."

"You are  _ not _ my brother."

Wilbur leaned back, "Apologize at once, Tommy."

"No."

"I will give you to the count of three." Wilbur raised a hand and held up a finger.

"One." Wilbur stood and his height expanded.

"Two." His skin seemed to shrink against bone.

"Three!" His jawline became sharper, and his fingernails pointed. He grabbed Tommy by the ear and tossed him into the hallway.

"Ow! Stop it!" Tommy shrieked as he was grabbed again. Dragged down the hallway, Tommy was thrown through a mirror into a secluded cell.

"You will come out when you learn to be a good brother." Wilbur leaned through the wall before disappearing.

The room darkened, and Tommy slammed his hands against the concrete wall Wilbur disappeared through. Tears fell down his face as he felt the skin on his hands tear open. He slid down the wall and put his head in his bloodied hands.

"Hush and shush. For the beldam might listen in." A small group of voices piped up from the corner of the room.

"Careful, child. Your hands are already bruised enough." A pale green figure floated towards him and gently pulled his hands away from his face.

"Who are you?" Tommy looked up at the figure.

"I don't remember my real name, but my friends used to call me Bad." Bad smiled gently at him.

"I remember my real mother." Another figure floated towards him.

"My old partner and best friend." The final one floated towards them but kept their distance.

"Who are you all?" Tommy looked around in awe.

"She used to call me his little soldier. His little fundy." Fundy floated around sadly.

"Schlatt called me Quackity." Quackity laid down on the mattress that was pushed into the corner.

"Why are you all here?" Tommy stood to get a better look at the group.

"The beldam, he spied on our lives. And saw that we weren't happy." Bad hummed sadly.

"So she lured us away, with treasures and games to play." Fundy floated around Tommy.

"Gave all that we asked, but we still wanted more," Quackity spoke up.

"s̴̮̓ǒ̶̲ ̶̩̓w̷̝̔ę̵̊ ̴̼̚l̵͈̓ẽ̷̞t̵̖͝ ̷̬͋h̷͇͆ï̵̫m̸̱͐ ̴̖̐s̷͙͑è̴̻w̵̮̐ ̶̦̈́t̶̡́h̶̭͌e̶̱̿ ̴̖͂b̷̘̑u̷̕͜ẗ̴̻t̸̯̂ô̸̠n̸̊s̶͙̈." Bad floated through Tommy's body and circled the other two ghosts.

"She said that he loved us." Fundy had tears streaming down his face.

"But he stashed us here and ate. up. our. souls." Quackity spoke sadly.

The ghosts' light faded away as they disappeared through the bed. Tommy stood facing the bed for a few minutes, lost in thought. After a few minutes, Tommy grunted and smiled.  


"Well, he can't keep me here forever. Not if he wants to win my life. Beating him is my only chance." Tommy lifted his head as the ghosts faded back in.

"Perhaps, if you do win your escape, you could find our eyes." Bad shifted forwards.

"She stole those too?" Tommy grimaced in sympathy.

"Yes, sir. And hidden them too." Fundy shifted forward with one hand covering his left eye.

"Find our eyes, child! Then our souls will be free." Quackity closed the conversation, and the ghosts faded again.

"I'll try." Tommy had just finished speaking when hands covered his mouth and pulled him out of the mirror.

Tommy grunted and slammed the person against the wall. The person slumped against the wall and raised his hands as Tommy pulled the blank mask off their face. Tubbo sat against the wall; his mouth crudely pulled into a smile by strings. Tommy gasped and unraveled the strings to let Tubbo's face fall to normal.

"Tubbo!? What did he do to you?" Tommy hissed and placed a hand on Tubbo's head.

Tubbo shushed him and grabbed him arm. He pulled Tommy down the hallway and into the living room. Together, they pushed the bug away from the little door. Tommy cringed as the bug crashed down.

"Tommy? Is that you?" Wilbur's voice shouted from within the house.

"Come on! He'll hurt you!" Tommy grabbed Tubbo's arm as he pulled the door open.

Tubbo only shook his head and pulled off one of his gloves. His hand was completely made up of sand, and when he blew on it, it crumbled apart. Tommy gasped as Tubbo smiled sadly and pushed him through the door. 

The tunnel was dark and covered in cobwebs. Little toys were tangled in the webs and the smell of mothballs invaded his scent. He stumbled through the rough tunnel as Wilbur's footsteps shook the tunnel. He pushed through cobwebs and slammed through the little door.

He closed the door and turned the key that still sat in the lock.

"I'm home!" Tommy stood and shouted with a smile.

He received no answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo uh. Who did you guys think the ghost children were going to be? I had a few different ideas but idk. DON'T ASK WHO THE BELDAM LOOKED LIKE TO STEAL FUNDY SHSHSH. As I was writing that scene the idea of the beldam looking like skeppy to steal Bad and looking like Schlatt to steal Quackity made me go hmmm. We're so close to the finale! I might do an epilogue oneshot after I finish this but that isn't final. If Wilbur and Phil are stolen by the beldam, then what's wrong with Techno?  
> If you couldn't read the distorted text it was:  
> 1\. Wilbur didn't like that  
> 2\. So we let him sew the buttons  
> Chapter word count: 1,681


	8. Missing Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the only choice I have.

Walking through such a silent house, made Tommy's happiness seep away. When he was once celebrating a victory, he was now experiencing a tragedy. Phil and Wilbur's groceries sat rotting on the kitchen counter. Wilbur's phone sat next to them. Attempting to call Phil, only greeted him with his voicemail message.

The doorbell chimed and led Tommy to race down the hall. He pulled the door open to reveal Tubbo standing there shyly.

"Oh, hi, Tubbo." Tommy leaned against the door frame and looked around past Tubbo.

"Heh, heh. Uh, yeah. So, you know that doll I gave you? My dad's real mad. Says it was his partners. The one that disappeared." Tubbo shifted on his feet.

"You stole that doll, didn't you!"

"Well, it looked just like you!" Tubbo huffed.

"It used to look like this short pioneer boy, then some redhead, then some crazy boy who wore a beanie." Tommy paused.

"Your dad's missing partner."

"I think I just met him." Tommy turned excitedly.

Tommy grabbed Tubbo's hand and dragged him into the house happily. Tubbo grunted but relented to being pulled into the living room.

"I'm not supposed to-"

"He's in there." Tommy cut Tubbo off to point at the door.

"Can you unlock-" Tubbo reached for the key but was stopped by Tommy grabbing his wrist.

"Not in a million years. But it wouldn't matter, he can't leave without his eyes. None of the ghosts can." Tommy looked sadly at the door.

"So uhh. I really need that doll back." Tubbo backed up a few paces.

"Great! I'd love to get rid of it." Tommy marched up the stairs with Tubbo on his heels.

Yanking open his drawers, he growled, "Where are you hiding, you little monster?"

"You and dad been talking?" Tubbo nervously watched Tommy.

"The doll's his little spy; how he watches you. Finds out what's wrong with your life." 

"The doll is my dad's spy?"

"No! The  _ other  _ brother. He's got this whole world where everything's better. But it's all a trap." Tommy turned to point at Tubbo.

"Yeah, uh, I think I hear someone calling me."

"Don't believe me? Ask the cat!"

"The cat? I'll just tell my dad that you couldn't find the doll-"

"You aren't listening to me!" Tommy interrupted.

"That's. because. you're. CRAZY!" Tubbo shouted and dodged a book Tommy tossed at him.

Tubbo screamed as Tommy chased him down and out of the house.

"CRAZY!? You're the asshole who gave me the doll!" Tommy shouted at Tubbo as he jumped on his bike and rode off.

Glaring in Tubbo's direction one last time, Tommy turned and spotted the narrow staircase.

"Techno!" Tommy shouted to himself.

He raced up the stairs and pounded on Techno's door. He didn't answer, but the door creaked open by itself. Techno's computer was still on, and his papers were thrown everywhere. It looked like a fight had happened. Techno's baseball bat was strewn on the ground, and stepping into the room revealed more of a mess. 

His computer opened to a text box when Tommy woke it up.

'Toms, I don't know what the fuck you did, but somethings happening. I don't know what but listen to me. Keep yourself safe. And kick some ass for me, little brother.' the text box read.

Tommy didn't know how Techno knew something was wrong, but the messy room revealed enough.

.

Tommy sat clutching a teacup on Niki's couch later that day. He sniffled and buried a hand in George's short fur. The cat seemed almost apologetic. 

"Don't worry, Tommy, we know just what you need," Niki said happily as Minx placed a bowl full of hard taffy down.

"How is a hundred-year-old candy going to-" Tommy was cut off by Niki shouting and chopping the candy up with her knitting needles.

The taffy was ground up into dust and Minx knelt to blow the dust away. Niki scooped up a green triangle-shaped candy. It had a hole in the middle, just wide enough to see through.

"What's this supposed to do?" Tommy looked up curiously.

"Well, it might help. It's good for bad things." Niki smiled and scooped up a kitten.

"Fuck off, it's good for lost things, actually." Minx glared at Niki who only shot back.

The two continued to argue for a while, so Tommy took his leave.

.

That night, Tommy had to force himself to eat. Once he had something, he stole a sweater from Wilbur's room and settled into Phil's bed. He threw the sweater on and gripped the pig stuffy Techno had gifted him. Tommy sniffled and clutched the stuffy and Phil's pillow with a sob.

"Goodnight, Phil. Goodnight, Techno." Tommy sobbed harder this time.

"Goodnight, Wilbur."

He cried himself to sleep.

.

He was woken up by a paw tapping at his face. At first, he only waved the paw away and snuggled into the blankets, but then two paws tapped at his nose. He blinked up to see George and Dream standing over him.

"Hello, how did you two get in?" Tommy asked, his eyes still heavy. The cats seemed to look sympathetic.

"Do you know where my family is?"

Dream dipped his head and jumped off the bed with George on his heels. Tommy quickly followed. The two cats led him down the stairs and to the big mirror that sits in the hall. As they approached, the mirror fogged up to reveal his family. They stood shivering and covered in snow.

'Help Us' Wilbur slowly wrote on the foggy window. Techno put a hand on Wilbur's shoulder and pulled him into Phil's embrace.

The fog slowly faded away, and Tommy slammed his hands against the glass.

"No! Come back! PLEASE!" Tommy hit the glass one last time, and it shattered against his hands. The shards came crashing down, and Tommy ducked.

"How did this happen!?" Tommy whispered as George rubbed against his leg.

Dream and George glanced at each other before leading Tommy to the living room. They crouched and pulled three more of the little button-eyed dolls out, one that looked like Techno, one like Phil, and the final one like Wilbur.

Tommy gasped, "He's taken them."

Tommy grabbed the dolls and chucked them into the fireplace. The fire crackled as it claimed more fuel. He watched the dolls slowly curl in on themselves as they burned. He glanced up at the mantel of the fireplace and spotted a snowglobe Phil had placed there. He stood to grab it.

"They're not coming back, are they?" Tommy glanced up from the snowglobe to look at Dream and George.

"Not on their own, at least."

Dream and George look sadly back at him.

"So, there's only one thing left to do." Tommy turned and glared at the little door. Dream and George growled with him.

In preparation, Tommy grabbed Techno's old messenger bag and stuffed the candy charm in. He smoothed out Wilbur's yellow sweater and pulled on Phil's bucket hat. He grabbed a pair of wire cutters and stuffed those in as well. Slowly opening the little door, Tommy flicked on his lighter and started his crawl.

"You know you're walking right into his trap, right?" George spoke up while he pattered along next to him. 

"I have to do this. It's the only way." Tommy glanced at the cats and smiled at Dream's nod.

"Challenge him then. He may not play fair, but he won't refuse. He's got a  _ thing  _ for games." George turned away with a grin.

"Hmm. I'll keep that in mind."

A strong gust of wind blew through the tunnel and shut the door behind him. The lighter blew out and the door in front of him slowly opened.

"Tommy? Oh, Tommy! You came back for us!" Wilbur crouched in the doorway.

"Wilbur!" Tommy crawled faster and right into Wilbur's arms.

"Darling, why did you run away from me." Wilbur's voice distorted slightly, and he slowly reverted to the thin, tall monster from before.

Tommy pushed Wilbur away and glared up at him, "Where is my family?"

"Gosh, I have no idea where your  _ old  _ family is." Wilbur grinned with sharp teeth.

"Perhaps they've grown old of you and ran away to France?"

"They weren't bored of me. You stole them!" Tommy shouted.

"Don't be difficult, Tommy." Wilbur tutted.

Wilbur pattered over to the small door as Phil grabbed his shoulders and kept him in place. Wilbur leaned down and held out a hand. Out of the tunnel came a fat black rat holding the button key in its mouth. He snatched the key up and locked the door before swallowing it. Tommy watched, disgusted, as Wilbur only hummed.

"Why don't you have your  _ own  _ key?" Tommy asked sharply.

"Only one key." Phil drawled drunkenly.

Wilbur covered Phil's mouth and dragged him away from Tommy, "The garden needs tending to,  _ Father. _ "

Tommy stood in the living room, catching his breath, when the sound of writing on glass sounded from around the room.

"Where'd he hide you?" Tommy spun around a few times.

The breakfast bell sounded from the kitchen and had Tommy slowly pattering in. Wilbur towered over the stove as he pushed around some eggs. Tommy sat quietly at the table at tapped his fingers against the wood. In the middle of the table sat the box with the buttons and thread.

"Why don't we play a game? I know that you like them." Tommy spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Everybody likes  _ games _ ." Wilbur stopped cooking for a split second before returning to the food.

"What kind of  _ game  _ would it be?"

"An exploring game. A  _ finding things _ game." 

"And what is it that you would be finding, Tommy?" Wilbur picked up the pan and plated the omelet and bacon.

"My real parents."

"Too easy, Tommy."

"And the eyes of the ghosts." 

"Huh. And what if you don't find them?" Wilbur leaned down to grin.

"If I lose: I'll stay here forever, and I'll let you sew the buttons in my eyes." Tommy hesitated but continued.

"Hmmn. And if you somehow win this game, then what?" Wilbur leaned away.

"Then you let me go, you let everyone you've trapped here go."

"Hmm, deal." Wilbur held out a hand.

Tommy only looked at it and huffed, "Not until you give me a clue."

"Of course, in each of the three wonders I've made just for you, a ghost eye is lost in plain sight." Wilbur leaned against the kitchen sink.

"And for my parents?" Tommy asked.

But Wilbur only tapped his button eyes.

"Fine, don't tell me," Tommy paused but nodded, "We have a deal."

He turned with his hand out, but Wilbur had disappeared.

"What does he mean? Wonders?" Tommy leaned against the sink and looked out the window. 

The dark garden stares back, and Tommy had an inkling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmmmmmmmmm I should be finishing chap 9 today and 10 tomorrow. I finished this one yesterday but I didn't upload it bc of reasons. I have been dragging out the chapters a little bit so I might have to add an 11th chapter. I don't really know what to put here sooo I hope you enjoy it.  
> Thank you all some much for commenting and bookmarking, I'm so happy people are enjoying this!  
> Chapter word count: 1,813  
> Techno has Techno magic


	9. The Good Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If no one will do it, then fuck it, I will.

Tommy walked into the garden with renewed strength. The gate squeaked open slowly, and Tommy winced at the sound. The path was covered in rotting leaves, and the entire garden was pitch black as opposed to the bright lights from before. A few flowers pulsed weakly with color, but Tommy only gagged and walked on. The snapping flowers weakly tried to snap at his heels, but Tommy only crushed them underfoot.

Something rumbled behind him, and turning around he saw a part of the wall cracking open. Vines wrapped around his ankles and tripped him. The messenger bag spilled out in front of him, and he threw out a hand to grab his cutters. Tommy was pulled a few feet towards the wall, and, with one last bout of strength, he grabbed the cutters. He sliced the vines off, and the wall closed.

Hummingbirds sounded right next to his ear, and he watched in horror as the birds grabbed the candy charm and carried it off. He gripped the cutters and threw them at the retreating birds. He managed to hit them, and he grabbed his bag and trotted over. The birds sunk away into sand. He gently picked up the candy charm and looked at it curiously.

"Why steal this?" Tommy tucked the cutters back into his bag and lifted the charm to his eye.

Suddenly, the world was in complete greyscale. He pulled the charm away, and the world sunk back into color. He looked through charm and spun slowly. In the greyscale, there was one point of bright orange light. Pulling the charm away, nothing stood out in the dark area.

Bright lights were shown in Tommy's face as Phil's tractor booted up and turned towards him. Phil sat in the driver's seat, his face saddened and melting.

"Sorry! So sorry!" Phil slurred as the tractor swung its huge blades towards Tommy. 

Tommy screamed and ran towards the wooden bridge leading towards the exit. He threw himself across and watched in horror as the tractor tried to cross. But it was too heavy, and the wood splintered under it. Phil slipped out from whatever was keeping him on the machine, pulled a ball off of the gear shift. He lifted a hand and tossed the ball towards Tommy. Tommy dived to catch it, and he watched as Phil and the tractor sunk under the water.

Phil's head disappeared, and the garden slowly crackled and sunk into greyscale. Tommy glanced down at the ball.

It lit up with a warm orange glow.

"Thank you, child! You found me, but there are still two others!" Bad's voice piped up from the light.

"Don't worry. I think I'm getting the hang of this." Tommy whispered as the light dimmed.

He glanced up to see the moon slowly being covered by some sort of object. At least he now knew his time limit. He turned back towards the house and began his trek back.

He was about to walk to the porch when the lights of the theatre caught his eye. He mulled over Wilbur's words before nodding and hopping down the stairs. Pushing through the curtains, his foot brushed against a flashlight. He bent down and clicked the light on before continuing to make his way in.

The seats were empty, and the lights were dimmed down. He couldn't see anything on the stage as he waved the light around. Tommy heard the flapping of wings, and he glanced up. Among the rafters sat a group of bat-winged cats hung. They hissed at the flashlight, and he was quick to flick it downward. Suddenly, the stage lights blinked on.

In the middle of the stage sat a giant wrapped candy. It hung from two ropes from the ceiling. Stepping up to it, Tommy lifted the charm and saw an orange light in the wrapped candy. He grumbled and stuck a hand through the wrapper and felt around. He grabbed a ball-shaped  _ thing _ , and pulled it out. The ball was two hands clasped together. Slowly peeling the fingers away revealed a pearl in the middle.

He slowly put a hand forward to grab the pearl, but the two hands clasped around his wrist.

"Thief! Give it back!" Minx and Niki's forms were molded together, and they shrieked at him.

Tommy gasped and tried to pull himself back, but they only pulled him forwards. He grasped the flashlight and whirled around. Glancing back up, he pointed the light up towards the bats. He clicked it on and off and smiled as the bats began to swoop down. Tommy ducked right as they reached him and watched in satisfaction as the bats stopped the two from holding him.

Like before, the figures slowly cracked away into greyscale, the theatre itself following shortly. The pearl lit up with warmth.

"Hurry on, kid! Her web is unwinding!" Fundy's voice piped up from the pearl.

He stuffed the pearl into his bag alongside the other ball. Leaping off the stage, Tommy hurried out of the theatre.

Now knowing the pattern, Tommy made his way up to Techno's room. He stopped in horror at the sight of Tubbo's clothes waving in the wind off the pole by Techno's door.

Tommy leaned over the railing, "Evil witch! I'm not scared of you!"

Techno's door slowly creaked open by itself. Tommy whipped around and pushed the door open wider and stepped in. The room was dark, and the cannons still lined the pathway to the circus. The circus music was slightly off and put Tommy in a state of unease. The flapping of fabric was the only warning when Techno's slumped from shot up next to him.

"Hullo~ Tomathy." Techno looked like he was held up by strings, and his voice made him sound drunk.

"It's Tommy. Tommy Innit." Tommy squinted at the slumped form.

Techno rolled his shoulder, and a bright red ball rolled out of his sleeve, "Is this what you are looking for?"

"Yes." Tommy shot a hand forward, but Techno only pulled away and giggled.

"You think winning game is good thing?" Techno leaned forward on his legs and stomped forward. His back was almost completely folded as he disappeared through a wall.

"You will just go home and be bored again." Techno's voice slurred from the walls.

"Stay with us." Techno swung from the rafters.

Techno's form dropped from the rafters. He laid on his back for a few seconds before his legs bent awkwardly and pulled him into the tent. Tommy followed hesitantly. 

"If you stay here, you can have whatever you want." Techno hummed from atop a platform.

A glance through the charm revealed the light stemming from his hat, "You don't get it, do you?"

Techno's form slumped sideways, "I don't understand."

"Of course, you don't. You're just a copy  _ he  _ made of my real brother."

"N̵̨̳̠̮̞̮̄͆͝ọ̶̱͙̄̾̎t̸̨̑͘ ̵̡͙̱̤̥̭̹̉̉̉͑̉̕̚ë̶̬̤̲̞͈́̾̌̿͘͜v̸̬̑͘͠ê̷̫̦͐n̸̢͔͚̯̹̑̃͊ ̷̝̣͇̙́̇͘͜͝t̸͙͎̙̘͈̪͖̔̃̋̍̑̚h̵̢̻̞̱͔̄͂̈́̅̀̍ä̸̖͈́̒̋͒̕̕t̷̛͍̰̖̻͖̤̄̇̊̕ͅ,̴͉̼̯͕̠͇͕͊̍ ̴͇̙͛̆̇̈̒͆̓ȁ̸̛͉̱͔̞̿̿̄̈́̀n̵̡̙̻͙͈̱̅̓̅̓̀̉͝y̴̡̤͔͙̰͚̔̌̇̚m̶̤̖̬̑̆́̏ȯ̵̮̜̥̟͜͝ͅṟ̴̲̤̊̉ȇ̸̝̫͐̈́.̸̪̦̈́͗͋̿̓̌" Techno folded towards him.

Tommy reached up and pulled Techno's hat off. A fat rat hissed at him and held the ball in its clutches. He threw himself backward as rats spilled out of Techno's sleeves and jacket. The rats all scattered out of the circus, and the rat with the ball rode out on a wheel.

Tommy stumbled out but was tripped by rats. He pulled his arm back at tossed the charm towards the big rat. The rat only jumped over the charm, and Tommy watched in horror as it was sent flying out of the apartment.

"No!" Tommy dragged himself up and towards the door, the rat disappeared through. He crashed through the door and slammed against the railing.

The porch shuttered and started to peel off the house. Tommy shrieked as the porch came crashing down onto the ground. He groaned and stayed on the ground as his vision stopped spinning.

Gasping, he looked around for the rat, but it had disappeared. He pulled his bag towards himself and pulled out the other two balls. Tears swirled in his eyes as he realized he failed the challenge. The light of the moon slowly began to disappear as the button almost covered the moon.

"I think I said I don't like rats on the best of days." Dream dropped the body of the black rat and the ball down in front of Tommy. George pattered up next to Dream and hummed in agreement.

"I think you might have mentioned it." Tommy swiped away tears and picked up the ball. The ground crackled and sunk away into greyscale.

"I'm heading inside. I still have to find my family."

The button finally slotted into place over the moon. The moon crackled, and the sky fell away into particles. The ground started to pull itself apart, and a white void started to descend.

Tommy opened his bag, "Quick!"

Dream and George jumped up into the bag and braced themselves as Tommy whipped around and stumbled up to the door. Tommy slammed it open and slumped against the wall, panting wildly. He steeled himself and stood facing the living room. As he walked, the wallpaper slowly peeled away.

The living room was bathed in a green light, and as he stepped in, the furniture weakly turned towards him.

"So, you're back. And you brought vermin with you." This Wilbur barely resembled the original look of his brother. His hands were needles, and he was thinner than bones. Around his button eyes, his face was full of cracks and black slick.

"I brought some friends." Tommy turned the bag away from Wilbur.

"You know I love you." Wilbur stood from the couch.

" _ You  _ have a very funny way of showing it."

"So, where are they? The ghost eyes?" Wilbur's needle hand brushed against Tommy's cheek before he pulled away.

Tommy held out the eyes but pulled away before Wilbur could grab them, "Wait a second, we aren't finished yet."

"No. I guess we aren't. You still have to find your  _ old  _ family." Wilbur cackled and pulled his charm out from his pocket.

"Too bad you won't have this."

Tommy shivered as Wilbur tossed it into the fire and giggled quietly to himself.

One of the eyes lit up silently.

"Be clever, sir! Even if you win, he'll never let you leave!" Quackity's voice squeaked.

Tommy looked up slightly and spotted the small door. He grinned and nodded to himself.

"I already know where you've hidden them." Tommy turned back towards Wilbur.

"Do you now? Well then, produce them." Wilbur shuffled forward.

"They're behind that door." Tommy shifted to point at the small door.

"Oh, they are, aren't they?"

Wilbur shuffled past Tommy and crouched in front of the little door. He grinned at Tommy and began coughing. 

Quickly, Tommy spun around, looking for his family. His gaze landed on the single snowglobe sitting on the mantle. It fogged up slightly to show his family. Dream and George jumped from his bag to stand on the mantle. He swiped the globe and placed it gently into his bag as Wilbur slowly opened the little door.

"You're wrong, Tommy. Now then." Wilbur held the needle and thread from before.

"You're going to stay here.  _ Forever _ ."

"No. I'm. Not!" Tommy shouted and picked Dream up. He tossed the cat and grinned as he began scratching at Wilbur's eyes. 

Wilbur's button-eyes were pulled out of his head by Dream wildly scratching. Wilbur shrieked and tossed Dream off. He slammed his foot down, and the floor sank away into a deep web.

"You horrible cheating boy!" Wilbur shrieked.

Dream and George jumped into the tunnel and glanced at him nervously. Tommy clutched one of the rungs of the web and began climbing back up as Wilbur sank to the bottom of the web. His bag caught on one of the strings, and it vibrated all the way down to where Wilbur sat. Wilbur cackled and climbed up after Tommy.

But Tommy reached the door first. He pulled the key out and began to close the door when it was grabbed by Wilbur. He kicked Wilbur back out of the door and began the struggle to close it. Just as he thought he might lose, ghostly hands branched from his bag and helped him shut the door. It snapped closed on one of Wilbur's needle hands and Tommy stared at it for a few seconds.

He didn't get to enjoy peace for very long as Wilbur began to bang on the door. With every bang, the tunnel became smaller. Tommy stumbled through the tunnel and crashed into the original living room. The other door still made its way closer, so Tommy slammed his side shut and locked it.

He finally got to catch his breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter, pog? OKAY! So, I'm officially going to add an 11th chapter cause I might have miscounted and little and I want to do an epilogue. I know I said I would have more chapters done, but this one took a while. I hope it's good enough since I really had to touch-and-go write this. I can't write action scenes too well but I tried my best. THANK YOU FOR SO MUCH LOVE!!!  
> Chapter word count: 2,095


	10. Last Front

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breath easy for once in your life.

Tommy panted as he opened his messenger bag. He spotted the ghost eyes and had a moment of panic when he didn't see the snowglobe. The sound of dripping had him whirling around. The snowglobe that held his family sat shattered on the mantle.

He was confused for a few seconds before the sound of the front door opening sounded.

"Tommy, we're home," Wilbur shouted and raised an eyebrow as he turned into the living room.

"Wilbur! Phil! I missed you so much!" Tommy crashed into Phil with a shout.

"Oh, Tommy! You broke my favorite snowglobe." Phil huffed in faux anger as he held Tommy tight.

"Missed us? Tommy, we were only gone for thirty minutes." Wilbur asked, confused.

"I didn't break it, Phil! It must have broken when you escaped." Tommy shrugged.

"And cut your knee! Tommy, I asked you to count the windows, not put your knee through them." Phil said, exasperated.

"Huh!?"

"Well, get yourself cleaned up. We're going out to eat." Wilbur punched Phil's shoulder lightly and smirked.

"We have a lot to celebrate!" Phil smiled.

"You're talking about your job?" Tommy tilted his head.

"Of course! What else?" Phil turned to walk out of the living room.

Wilbur followed shortly after, and Tommy shuffled out. That was when he spotted Techno leaning with one hand on the wall.

Techno was the only one out of the group that looked a little shell-shocked. Tommy watched nervously as Techno stared at him before he was pulled into a hug by his older brother. Techno shuttered against Tommy and whispered a hundred thank yous.

Techno pulled away and pattered off.

.

That night after dinner, Tommy was tucked in by his family. Techno shouted as he flopped onto his bed, the pig stuffy in hand. Tommy laughed and shoved Techno.

"So, Phil. Did you order the tulips?" Tommy asked as he wrestled with Techno.

"What?" Phil pretended to be confused.

"For the garden party!" Tommy shouted.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Phil leaned over and ruffled Tommy's hair.

Tommy laughed and pushed Techno and Phil away, "You didn't forget the invitations, did you?"

"Even Minx and Niki?" Wilbur asked from behind Phil.

"They're not dingbats they're just,  _ eccentric _ ." Tommy hummed.

Phil chuckled at Wilbur's expression. Phil leaned down to kiss Tommy's forehead with a whispered goodnight. Techno hugged him and headed for the door. Tommy's eyes were closed when Wilbur shuffled up to the bed. He felt Wilbur tuck something in next to him. His bedroom door shut gently.

Rolling over, Tommy picked up the small box Wilbur had tucked in. He pulled the top off to reveal the pair of bright red gloves he had begged Phil for. Tommy giggled to himself and pulled them on. As he was admiring the gloves, Dream and George jumped up to his window.

He pulled himself out of bed and pattered over to the window. Tugging the window open, Dream and George slipped in. Dream seemed annoyed, and George looked like he was laughed at Dream.

"Sorry for throwing you, Dream. It was all I could think of." Tommy spoke softly and hung his head.

Dream purred and brushed against Tommy. The two cats followed Tommy back to his bed and jumped up next to him. He pulled out the ghost eyes from his bag.

"I think it's time, don't you?" Tommy slipped the eyes under his pillow and curled into his covers.

Dream and George snuggled up next to him.

.

The dream world was lit up with bright blues and golds. Colors swirled together as Bad, Fundy, and Quackity floated into view. Instead of their green hue from earlier, they were all golden. 

"It's a great thing you did for us, kid." Quackity hummed.

"Well, I'm glad it's over now." Tommy smiled.

"It is over, for us." Quackity glanced away for a second.

"What about me?"

"You're in terrible danger, kid!" Fundy floated in front of his face.

"How!? I locked the door!"

"It's the key, you muffinhead! There's only one, and the beldam will get his hands on it." Bad spoke up gently and pointed to the key around Tommy's neck.

"Don't think it's all bad, sir. You are still alive." The ghost huddled around him with a hug.

Suddenly, Tommy was rolling over in his bed. He shot up and caught Dream's glance. He turned and moved his pillow; the ghost eyes sat shattered into a million pieces.

Tommy turned back towards the cats with a shutter, "I gotta hide this somewhere. Somewhere she'll never-"

Tommy stopped for a second and grinned to himself. He pulled his covers off and pattered to the door; Dream and George stayed behind on his bed. He grabbed a small blanket as he went and wrapped it around his shoulders as he fiddled with the key.

He stepped out onto the porch and turned towards the mud path leading to the well.

"Oh, my twitchy witchy girl." Tommy sung to himself as he pattered through the orchard.

"I think you are so nice. I give you bowls of porridge, I give you bowls of ice."

Tommy pulled the cover to the old well off, "Cream."

He swiped the sweat from his brow before yelping as something grabbed the string the key hung on. Looking down, Tommy spotted the dismembered needle hand of the other Wilbur. He tripped backward and was dragged away from the well. He gagged as the string began to choke him.

Suddenly, the sound of a horn came from the top of the hill, and down came Tubbo on his bike. Tubbo leaned over and punting the hand away from Tommy's neck. The hand only grabbed onto Tubbo and made him swerve off his bike. Tubbo was sent over the edge of the well, and he hung by his fingers.

Tubbo shrieked as the needles stabbed into his fingers, forcing him to let go. But Tommy was faster; he grabbed the hand with his blanket and rolled away from the well. The needles only began the cut through the fabric. It was finally stopped by Tubbo dumping a boulder onto the blanket.

The two sat back with panting breaths. Grabbing the other ends of the blanket, Tommy tied the blanket against the rock with the key. Together, Tommy and Tubbo rolled the boulder into the well. Tubbo closed the well as Tommy slumped onto the ground.

"I'm really sorry I didn't believe you about this whole evil thing, Tommy." Tubbo leaned against his legs. 

"Why'd you change your mind?"

"Dad showed me this picture after I called you crazy." Tubbo held out an old photograph for Tommy.

It was a picture of two men standing next to each other. One of the boys was obviously Quackity and the other, he assumed, was Tubbo's dad. Tubbo's dad had brown hair and mutton-chops on his cheeks. Tubbo's dad was glancing nervously at the button-eyed doll Quackity was holding next to him.

"The ghost boy," Tommy whispered.

"TUBBO!" The bell chimed over the hills.

"Oh, god. I am in so much trouble. What am I supposed to tell him?" Tubbo hissed and took the picture back.

"Bring him by the house tomorrow. We'll explain together."

"We can?"

Tommy smirked, "You know, I'm glad you decided to stalk me."

"Ow!" Tubbo hissed as Tommy punched his shoulder.

Dream jumped up onto the stump next to them. He tilted his head, and Tubbo and Tommy copied the motion. The cat squinted at them before rolling his eyes.

Tommy could finally sleep easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL THEN! The FIRST STORY I'VE FINISHED. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I know I wasn't too creative with it but I really wanted to stay close to the source. Maybe one day in the future I'll rewrite this and be more creative. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE KUDOS AND WONDERFUL COMMENTS. Techno still has Techno magic.  
> Chapter word count: 1,263


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